Cleaning Up an Old Model Railroad Scene

Perhaps you have a scene or series of scenes on your layout that have not aged well. They may be covered in dust or just generally need a little touch up. You’d be surprised how easy it is to clean up an old scene on your model railroad layout. In this post, I’m going to demonstrate a cleanup on this diorama that has been covered in dust for some time.

Related video: Cleaning Your Model Train Layout

You can really see the dust on the dock and the “water.” But what to do?

Even the ground itself is dusty as are the roof tops and all the nice little detail castings.

To solve this problem, I simply get out my airbrush after taking the diorama outside. Who needs more dirt or dust in a layout room? I fire up the air compressor and blast away the dust with my airbrush.

Below is a before and after photo. In the after shot you can see the dust blow away.

Even the “water” can be made sparkling again with some compressed air and a little real water.

To protect the big building in the back since it’s made of wood, I had to mask its sides with a piece of cardboard. But look how the water looks now with a spritz of water from an old hair spray bottle!

With the mask in place I could really blast the details, truck, and rocks in this scene.

I think you will have to agree the scene is looking a little better.

Of course it won’t hurt to add more ground cover if needed or even some more vegetation.

For a particularly dirty spot a big soft brush might be the answer.

Now your scene is ready to impress your visitors and keep the “neatniks” happy!

Related video: Model Railway Wiring and Dust Cleaning Techniques

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